In 2017, Brazil began to implement risk assessment of pesticides for operators, workers, residents and bystanders in spite of having no legal basis for it. The starting point was the demand to quantify the risk of pesticides maintained in Brazil from the public consultations; this resulted in the reevaluation of some active ingredients. Initially, Anvisa decided to carry out an overview of the risk assessment for each active ingredient, using the worst scenarios for each crop among all the registered products. The American and European exposure prediction models were used, according to the suitability of the database for the scenarios in Brazil. Exposures were predicted by EFSA calculator or using the exposure units obtained from the Occupational Pesticide Handler Unit Exposure Surrogate Reference Table from 2018. The first active ingredient evaluated was 2,4-D, for which only the operator risk was assessed. Then, the risk assessment of operators, workers, residents and bystanders was made for Glyphosate. For these two pesticides, generic risk mitigation measures were adopted for all products. Anvisa began risk assessment for each product with the active ingredient Thiram and indicated specific mitigation measures per product. So far, the risk assessment allowed the identification of data gaps, such as treated areas, unit exposures of specific scenarios, dermal absorption rates and refinement of exposure for re-entry workers. Also identified, was the lack of relevant information in the labels of the products and the need to improve the indication for the mitigation measures. Some of these limitations have already been remedied. For example, a consortium of registrants conducted a study to characterize the agricultural scenarios in Brazil and a study to determine the representative field operational capacities for Brazilian agricultural practices. Moreover, Anvisa has been participating in international discussions, cooperating with other institutions and training the staff with workshops and technical visits to the field. However, there are still many challenges to completely implement the risk assessment for pesticides. For example, conducting exposure studies for scenarios with great relevance to the country and the elaboration of regulations capable of encompassing the specificities of the risk assessment in Brazil.<br/>

Reevaluation as a starting point to implement the risk assessment of pesticides for operators, workers, residents, and bystanders in Brazil

2019 Fall National Meeting

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